Vehicles which are exposed to mine explosions from landmines imply high stresses upon the wheels and rims of the vehicle, which can lead to damage resulting in the vehicle becoming unusable. Even if the wheel is not torn off, there is a high risk of the wheel becoming unusable, since the rim is so strongly compressed that the rim locks the wheel against the axle casing. The cause is, above all, the concentrated force action from thrown-up sand and gravel directed towards the edge of the rim.
A number of different mine protection devices for vehicles are known from the literature. The majority of these are based on the use of guard plates, which are fixedly fitted to the body of the vehicle on the underside of the body. EP 1275928, FIG. 1, column 2,
discloses a mine protection device comprising a concavely configured guard plate 1, which covers the underside of the body and is fitted to diagonal bars 4 arranged between the wheel pairs 21 of the vehicle and the body of the vehicle via the wheel axle 21 and bearing housing 5 of the vehicle.
The positioning and concave shape of the guard plate means that the impact from a mine, such as pressure, gravel and splinters, is deflected away from the underside of the body, so that harmful effects upon the vehicle body and upon the crew are prevented, while the impact is also deflected away from the wheel axle 2 and bearing housing 5 of the vehicle.
A problem with said mine protection device is its size and weight, and also that it needs to be adapted, during fitting, to the vehicle construction.